A Christian advocacy group has cautioned against proposals to legalise assisted suicide and called instead for society to prioritise suicide prevention and "life-affirming care".

The warning came as the results of a "citizens jury" on assisted suicide were announced.

The jury, which does not have any legal authority, was set up by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics and comprised 28 people.

It concluded that assisted suicide should be legal for people with the mental capacity to choose for themselves.

Dr Gordon Macdonald, CEO for Care Not Killing, questioned the impartiality of the citizens jury. 

"Disappointingly, we note that the Director of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics was formerly Director of Compassion in Dying, the charitable arm of Dignity in Dying which campaigns for assisted suicide. Additionally, a leading Council member was previously chair of Compassion in Dying, and the project was funded by a group which has also funded another leading pro-assisted suicide campaign organisation," he said.

"That's before we get to the selection criteria. A jury in a court of law must be rigorously impartial with no strong views about the case they are judging.

"This does not appear to be the case with this exercise, indeed, from the methodology ... two thirds of the panel (65 per cent) were either in favour or strongly in favour of changing the law on assisted suicide and euthanasia before taking any evidence.

"So, what could have been a serious contribution to this important debate seemingly fails the impartiality test."

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer supports a change to the law. In Scotland, Holyrood is soon to debate Liam McArthur's Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, and Jersey and the Isle of Man have backed legalising the practice.

Recent polling of just over 2,000 adults by Whitestone Insight found that a majority (60%) support legalising assisted suicide.

However, even among those who support it, a majority (56%) do not believe that it can be safely implemented, while the same proportion fear it would lead to a culture where suicide is normalised.

Young people were least likely to support a change to the law, with fewer than half of 18 to 24 year olds (44%) saying they agreed with it.

Dr Macdonald concluded: "At a time when we see how quickly the safeguards in countries like Canada, Belgium and the Netherlands have been eroded so disabled people and those with mental health problems, even eating disorders are now being euthanised, I would strongly urge the Government to focus on fixing our broken palliative care system that sees up to one in four Brits who would benefit from this type of care being unable to access it, rather than discussing again this dangerous and ideological policy.

"With suicides in the UK being at record levels, financial worries and the NHS in crisis, now is not the time to encourage or facilitate more suicides by legalising assisted suicide and euthanasia."

Ross Hendry, CEO of Christian advocacy group CARE, said the findings of the poll challenge campaigners' claims of widespread support. He said that legalising assisted suicide would send the message that "some lives are not worth living - that some people are not worth protecting".

"The dangers of legislating for this idea are clear, and have been underlined repeatedly," he said.

"Assisted suicide puts vulnerable groups at huge risk of abuse. People currently protected from harm by the state would end their lives because they feel like a burden on others or the NHS, or because they lack proper support. The just and compassionate response to suffering is life-affirming care. This means proper investment in services that meet people's physical, mental and spiritual needs.

"The UK has huge work to do in this area. We'd also emphasise the need to enhance suicide prevention, and work towards a society where all lives are considered precious."